The Social Media Addiction Levels of Undergraduate Students in Health Sciences in the Pandemic Process: A Cross-Sectional Study

Year 2023, Volume: 7 Issue: 3, 149 - 158, 24.12.2023

Nihal Aloğlu , Ayla Güllü

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected individuals' lifestyles and increased the interest in social media. It is stated that university students constitute a high-risk group in terms of social media use. This study was planned as a cross-sectional type in order to determine the social media addiction levels of undergraduate students studying at a university in the field of health sciences during the pandemic period. The sample of the study consisted of 428 undergraduate students from three different departments. The Social Media Addiction Scale-Adult Form (SMAS-AF) was used to determine the social media addiction levels of the students. Data were collected between May and June 2021. It was determined that the total score of SMAS-AF of the students participating in the study was 56.57±12.79. Female students' SMAS-AF score and SMAS-AF 'virtual tolerance' sub-dimension scores were found to be significantly higher than male students (p<0.05). The SMAS-AF scores of the students living in the district were found to be significantly higher than those living in the metropolitan city (p<0.05). It has been observed that the purpose of using social media affects the level of social media addiction. Accordingly, the SMAS-AF score of the students who use social media for educational/learning purposes was found to be lower (p<0.05). It is recommended to guide students with trainings that will increase awareness of the use of social media without affecting the psychological health of students and without disrupting their social relations.

Keywords

social media, Pandemic, students

Project Number

yok

Sağlık Bilimleri Alanında Öğrenim Gören Lisans Öğrencilerinin Pandemi Sürecindeki Sosyal Medya Bağımlılığı Düzeyleri: Kesitsel Bir Çalışma

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemisi bireylerin yaşam tarzını önemli ölçüde etkileyerek sosyal medyaya olan ilgiyi artırmıştır. Üniversite öğrencilerinin sosyal medya kullanımı açısından yüksek riskli bir grubu oluşturduğu belirtilmektedir. Bu çalışma, bir üniversitede sağlık bilimleri alanında öğrenim gören lisans öğrencilerinin pandemi döneminde sosyal medya bağımlık düzeylerinin belirlenmesi amacıyla kesitsel tipte planlanmıştır. Çalışmanın örneklemini üç farklı bölümde bulunan toplam 428 lisans öğrencisi oluşturmuştur. Öğrencilerin sosyal medya bağımlılık düzeylerinin belirlenmesinde ‘Sosyal Medya Bağımlılığı Ölçeği-Yetişkin Formu (SMBÖ-YF)’ kullanılmıştır. Veriler Mayıs-Haziran 2021 tarihleri arasında toplanmıştır. Çalışmaya katılan öğrencilerin SMBÖ-YF toplam puanının 56.57±12.79 olduğu saptanmıştır. Kadın öğrencilerin SMBÖ-YF puanı ve SMBÖ-YF ‘sanal tolerans’ alt boyutu puanı erkek öğrencilere göre anlamlı şekilde daha yüksek bulunmuştur (p<0.05). İlçede yaşayan öğrencilerin SMBÖ-YF puanları büyükşehirde yaşayanlara göre anlamlı olarak daha yüksek bulunmuştur (p<0.05). Sosyal medyayı eğitim/öğrenim amacıyla kullanan öğrencilerin SMBÖ-YF puanı daha düşük bulunmuştur (p<0.05). Bu sonuca göre sosyal medya kullanım amacının sosyal medya bağımlılığı düzeyini etkilediği saptanmıştır. Sosyal medyanın öğrencilerin psikolojik sağlığını etkilemeden ve sosyal ilişkilerini bozmadan kullanımı yönünde bilinci artıracak eğitimlerle öğrencilere rehberlik edilmesi önerilmektedir.

Keywords

sosyal medya, Pandemi, öğrenci

Supporting Institution

yok

Project Number

yok

Thanks

Çalışmaya katılan tüm öğrencilere teşekkür ederiz.

References

• Aktan, E. (2018). Üniversite öğrencilerinin sosyal medya bağımlılık düzeylerinin çeşitli değişkenlere göre incelenmesi. Erciyes İletişim Dergisi, 5(4),405-421. https://doi.org/10.17680/erciyesiletisim.379886
• A Yazdani, D.M., Abir, T., Qing, Y., Ahmad, J., Mamun, A.A., Zainol, N.R., Kakon,K., Agho, K.E., & Wang, S. (2022). Social media addiction and emotions during the disaster recovery period—The moderating role of post-covıd timing. Plos One, 17(10), e0274898. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274898
• Çimke, S., & Cerit, E. (2021). Social media addiction, cyberbullying and cyber victimization of university students. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 35(5),499-503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2021.07.004
• El-Khoury, J., Haidar, R., Kanj, R.R., Ali, L.B., & Majari, G. (2020). Characteristics of social media “detoxification” in university students. Libyan Journal of Medicine, 16(1), 1846861. https://doi.org/10.1080/19932820.2020.1846861
• Gottlieb, M., & Dyer, S. (2020). Information and disinformation: social media in the covıd-19 crisis. Academic Emergency Medicine, 27(7),640-641. https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.14036.
• Ha, J.H., Yoo, H.J., Cho, I.H., Chin, B., Shin, D., & Kim, J.H. (2006). Psychiatric comorbidity assessed in Korean children and adolescents who screen positive for Internet addiction. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 67(5),821-6. https://doi.org/10.4088/jcp.v67n0517
• Hjetland, G.J., Skogen, J.C., Hysing, M., & Sivertsen, B. (2021). The association between self-reported screen time, social media addiction, and sleep among norwegian university students. Frontiers in Public Health, 16(9),794307. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.794307.
• Koç, A., Gökler, E., & Bilgehan, T. (2020). Comparıson of socıal medıa and followıng selfıe dependence in unıversıty students accordıng to the frequency of socıal medıa. Yeni Symposium, 57(4),15-20 https://doi.org/10.5455/nys.20200422065418
• Kross, E., Verduyn, P., Sheppes, G., Costello, C.K., Jonides, J., & Ybarra, O. (2021). Social media and well-being: pitfalls, progress, and next steps. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 25(1),55-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2020.10.005
• Kurt, A., & Avcı, E. (2020). Binomial (Oran) verilerin meta-analizi: Türkiye’deki internet bağımlılık oranının belirlenmesi. Erzincan Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü Dergisi, 13(3), 1050-1068. https://doi.org/10.18185/erzifbed.712013
• Li, Y., Sun, Y., Meng, S.Q., Bao, Y.P., Cheng, J.L., Chang, X.W., Ran, M.S., Sun, Y.K., Kosten, T., Strang, J., Lu, L., & Shi, J. (2021). Internet addiction ıncreases in the general population during covıd‐19: Evidence from China. The American Journal on Addictions, 30(4),389-397. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajad.13156
• Mak, K.K., Lai, C.M., Watanabe, H., Kim, D.I., Bahar, N., Ramos, M., Young, K.S., Ho, R.C.M., Aum, N.R., & Cheng, C. (2014). Epidemiology of Internet behaviors and addiction among adolescents in six Asian countries. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw, 17(11), 20-8. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2014.0139.
• Moreno, M. A., Eickhoff, J., Zhao, Q., Young, H. N., & Cox, E. D. (2019). Problematic ınternet use: a longitudinal study evaluating prevalence and predictors. The Journal of Pediatrics:X, 2019 spring (1),100006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympdx.2019.100006
• Mróz, J., & Kaleta, K. (2022). Internet addiction as a moderator of the relationship between cyberhate severity and decisional forgiveness. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(10),5844. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19105844
• Mukhaini, A.M., Houqani, F.A., & Kindi, R.M. (2021). Internet addiction and depression among postgraduate residents. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, 21(3),408-415. https://doi.org/10.18295/squmj.4.2021.008
• Nowak, M., Rachubińska, K., Starczewska, M., & Grochans, E. (2022). Seeking relationships between ınternet addiction and depressiveness, daytime sleepiness, as well as perceived social support in young adults. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences, 26 (4), 1374-1381. https://doi.org/10.26355/eurrev_202202_28130
• Parlak Sert, H., & Baskale, H. (2022). Students' increased time spenton social media, and their level of coronavirusanxiety during the pandemic predict increasedsocial media addiction. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12448
• Rachubińska, K., Cybulska, A.M., & Grochans, E. (2021). The relationship between loneliness, depression, internet and social media addiction among young Polish women. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences, 25 (4), 1982-1989. https://doi.org/10.26355/eurrev_202102_25099
• Sahranç, Ü., & Duç-Urhan, E. (2021). A Study on the relationship between social media addiction and self-regulation processes among university students. International Journal of Psychology and Educational Studies, 8(4), 96-109. https://dx.doi.org/10.52380/ijpes.2021.8.4.546
• Sánchez-Fernández, M., Borda-Mas, M., & Mora-Merchán, J. (2023). Problematic internet use by university students and associated predictive factors: A systematic review. Computers in Human Behavior, 139,107532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107532
• Sujarwoto, S., Saputri R..A..M., & Yumarni, T. (2021). Social media addiction and mental health among university students during the covıd-19 pandemic in Indonesia. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 21(1), 96–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-021-00582-3
• Şahin, C., & Yağcı, M. (2017). Sosyal medya bağımlılığı ölçeği -yetişkin formu: Geçerlilik ve güvenirlik çalışması. Ahi Evran Üniversitesi Kırşehir Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi (KEFAD), 14(1), 523-538.
• Tahir, M.J., Malik, N.I., Ullah, I., Khan, H.R., Perveen, S., Ramalho, R., Siddiqi, A.R., Waheed, S., Shalaby, M.M.M., De Berardis, D., Jain, S., Vetrivendan, G.L., Chatterjee, H., Franco, W.X.G., Shafiq, M.A., Fatima, N.T., Abeysekera, M., Sayyeda, Q., Shamat, S.F, … Pakpour, A.H. (2021). Internet addiction and sleep quality among medical students during the covıd-19 pandemic: A multinational cross-sectional survey. PLoS One, 16(11), e0259594. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259594.
• Tateno, M., Teo, A.R., Shirasaka, T., Tayama, M., Watabe, M., & Kato, T.A. (2016). Internet addiction and self-evaluated attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder traits among Japanese college students. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences,70(12), 567-572. https://doi.org/10.1111/pcn.12454
• Thorisdottir, I.E., Sigurvinsdottir, R., Asgeirsdottir, B.B., Allegrante, J.P., & Sigfusdottir, I.D. (2019). Active and passive social media use and symptoms of anxiety and depressed mood among ıcelandic adolescents. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 22(8), 535-542. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2019.0079
• Tran, B. X., Huong, L. T., Hinh, N. D., Nguyen, L. H., Le, B. N., Nong, V. M., Thuc, V. T. M., Tho, T. D., Latkin, C., Zhang, M. W., & Ho, R. C. (2017). A study on the influence of internet addiction and online interpersonal influences on health-related quality of life in young Vietnamese. BMC Public Health, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3983-z
• Ural, A.,& Kılıç, İ. (2013). Bilimsel araştırma süreci ve SPSS ile veri analizi. Detay Yayıncılık. Uslu, M. (2021). Türkiye’de sosyal medya bağımlılığı ve kullanımı araştırması/the analysis of social media addiction and usage in Turkey. Turkish Academic Research Review, 6 (2), 370-396. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/tarr/issue/62824/933479
• Vannucci, A., Flannery, M.K., & Ohannessian, C. (2017). Social media use and anxiety in emerging adults. Journal of Affcetive Disorders, 1(207),163-166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.08.040
• Venegas-Vera, A.V., Colbert, G.B., Lerma, E.V. (2020). Positive and negative impact of social media in the covıd-19 era. Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine, 21(4), 561-564. https://doi.org/10.31083/j.rcm.2020.04.195
• Wegmann, E., Brandtner, A., & Brand, M. (2021). Perceived strain due to covıd-19-related restrictions mediates the effect of social needs and fear of missing out on the risk of a problematic use of social networks. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 23(12), 623099. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.623099
• Zhao, N., & Zhou, G. (2021). Covıd-19 stress and addictive social media use (SMU): mediating role of active use and social media flow. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 9(12). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.6355
• Zhu, X., & Xiong, Z. (2022). Exploring association between social media addiction, fear of missing out, and self-presentation online among university students: A cross-sectional study. Frontiers in Psychiatry, (13)13, 896762 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.896762